eBay Motors Built Challenge - Built to Last

Competition breeds excellence and as Lowriders, we are constantly putting ourselves to the test; spending late nights and early mornings in our garages in pursuit of the one build that will stand out amongst our car show competitors, fellow car club members, and friends. When eBay Motors came calling with a challenge, we were more than ready to prove ourselves yet again, this time in a friendly completion courtesy of the web retailer. eBay Motors invited us to partake in their Built Challenge, a charity competition in which four automotive magazines and their selections of garages would compete in a build-off to showcase the unique and diverse automotive customization market and assist in raising money for a good cause. There was one catch however; every single aspect of our build had to come from the eBay Motors website, including all parts, upgrades, and even paint colors! After being given the list of preferred vehicles, we chose a ’66 El Camino, while Hot Rod magazine chose a 1970 Chevy Van, European Car picked out an ’84 Porsche 911 and Four Wheeler went with a Jeep. The BUILT Challenge was filmed in 10 episodes that spanned the builds from sand blasting to the buff out with additional footage slated for a web video series, which took viewers behind the scenes of not only our build but our competitors as well. Upon completion, each of the BUILT Vehicles will be auctioned off on eBay with the proceeds being donated to charities chosen by the participating garages.

While we were all bound to buying all our parts from eBay, each magazine chose a respective garage to work with for the project, and we chose Duran’s Quality Paint, a Baldwin Park staple thanks to the shop’s family-built tradition and history of excellent builds. The Camino was in over 45 years of bad shape when purchased and just when the crew at Duran’s was hit with the challenge of the 60 day deadline completion, things got even worse when the car was taken down to bare metal. It’s Murphy’s Law for Lowriders; you don’t know what you have until its stripped! Thanks to the ease of browsing on eBay motors, we found everything we needed including the hood, fenders, crate motor, brakes and suspension, chrome strip moldings, custom paint material, and glass, all on their auctions. As you can see while following the drama of some of the episodes, the ‘66 El Co represented the Lowrider world very well with a Candy Apple Red paintjob that included some gold leaf striping from Danny D studios which served as the perfect complement to coordinate not only the interior but also the finished wood floor installed on the back of the bed. We hope that LRM did you guys proud and that you liked our creation, and we really appreciate the votes you guys put in for your favorite ride. Regardless of whether you picked ours or picked one of the others, the real winners in this contest are the charity organizations. We sincerely thank eBay Motors for inviting us to participate alongside the other three great titles they chose, and it was a pleasure to put this project together.

The Premier car club’s pristine six-two Impala on our November cover goes by the name of “Seventh Letter” (G) because the proud owner, Chris Fields, wanted the car to have that gangster lean and low look to it. As you take a magnifying glass to sift through the detail of this crème classic, you will witness that it certainly took a gang of dedication and quality work from the shop out in Ontario known as “Low Lowz and More” to complete this ride.

The phrase, “different strokes for different folks,” applies to the ‘59 Hardtop from the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan. Check out the crazy detail in this build, it does not disappoint! This month’s Center feature has a very unique 3-D effect that will have you wondering if this full-metal Impala body has been engraved with patterns and clear coated; or then again, was it done in chrome paint? It almost looks like the same metal they found from that Ufo crash out in Roswell, New Mexico. Do your own investigating and then after you have come up with your conclusion to this design scheme, read the story and find out why our friends overseas are not afraid to try something different!

As Thanksgiving draws near, I want to offer my appreciation for your continued support of Lowrider Magazine. With your help in purchasing our print magazine and checking out our website and forums, Lrm will only continue to roll on for many years to come. Thank you guys for riding with us for 35 years strong!